U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,199 granted to Michael Ricks et al Aug. 19, 1997 discloses a tripot universal joint characterized by three roller assemblies that are supported on three equally spaced radial spider trunnions, respectively. Each roller assembly includes a roller carrier and an outer roller rotatably supported by a needle roller bearing on the roller carrier. Each outer roller is fixed with respect to its associated roller carrier in the radial direction by inner and outer snap rings that are mounted in grooves in the bore of the outer roller and that overlap the respective inner and outer end faces of the roller carrier. These snap rings also retain the needle rollers of the needle roller bearing in the longitudinal or axial direction.
It is also known to provide a tripot universal joint characterized by three roller assemblies that are supported on three respective equally spaced radial spider trunnions wherein each roller assembly includes an outer roller that moves in the longitudinal direction with respect to pivotally mounted roller carrier. The outer roller is rotatably supported on the roller carrier by a needle roller bearing. In this instance, the needle rollers are retained in the longitudinal or axial direction by a cup formed by integral shoulders of the outer roller that are located at the ends of the bore of the outer roller as shown in FIG. 1 of this patent application which is labeled “Prior Art”.
The “prior art” design described above and shown in FIG. 1 is satisfactory from a functional standpoint. However, the cup of the outer roller is expensive to manufacture. An arrangement similar to that shown in the Ricks '199 patent, using two snap rings on the outer roller instead of integral shoulders is a possible alternative to the “cup”. However, this alternative requires outer rollers that are wider to accommodate the retaining grooves for the snap rings. The wider rollers in turn increase the housing diameter resulting in a larger package size and mass.